Not Strong, But Not Weak Either
by Commander-of-Anime
Summary: Briana and Hailey were perfectly content with living their lives as total fangirls. Then, a strange light appears and the next thing they know it they're trapped in Attack on Titan. It may be their favorite anime, but they never wished to be sucked into it. With the knowledge of everything that will happen, what will they do? Isn't it obvious, they will make the most of it.
1. Prologue

**Not Strong, But Not Weak Either**

 **Prologue**

The curly blonde haired girl sat impatiently with her head propped up on a hand, as she waited for her friend. She sat at the kitchen island with a bag of candy, slowly chewing the sweet gummy worms. She snuck a glance at the clock and let out a slow sigh.

"Briana," she called, "Are you ready yet? Lisandra expects us at her house by seven and it's already almost half past six." The girl set the bag of gummy worms aside and stood, walking over to her friend's room.

Briana was found rushing around the room, putting things away and taking things out only to toss into her bag. Her natural brown ombre hair, which went from a dark chocolate brown slowly cascading down into blonde at the tips that hung by her waist, was tossed into a messy bun so it wouldn't get in her face. She had mascara applied that made her eyelashes look longer and hazel eyes pop behind the brown frames of her glasses. She wore a black _Panic! At the Disco_ top with dark wash jeans and a pair of black converse neatly tied on her feet. Her skin was set in a nice tan, barely showing her Hispanic heritage, and she stood at a 5'5 stature paired with the age of thirteen.

The brunette only stopped for a minute to glare at her friend and say, "Don't rush me; I got out of bed late and I had to shave my legs in the shower, so it took longer than I expected." Briana then went back to sorting things into her bag before zipping it up with a relieved sigh of content, "Now I'm ready."

The two walked out of Briana's room and she quickly closed it before setting her bag down on the kitchen island and skipping over to the pantry to pack a few snacks.

"I'm glad Lisandra invited us to her house for a sleepover; since you and I have no classes together and I can only talk to her in one of the two classes we have with each other, it almost seems I never see you guys," Briana stated absently as she grabbed a few bags of various kinds of chips, ranging from Doritos to Salt and Vinegar Lays.

She came over and set the chips in a plastic Publix bag and closed it with a knot. "Hey Hailey, save me some gummy worms! There is no need to hog them all," Briana complained playfully.

Hailey was the taller of the two, standing at 5'9 with curly blonde hair that fell messily a little less than half way down her back. Her green eyes sparked with constant playfulness and cheeks always tinted a slight pink as if she was blushing. She wore a simple green tank top with light wash jeans and black flats. Her skin remained pale and burned easily in the sun as it had for the past thirteen years of her life.

"There may be no need to hog it but I'm still going to," she quipped back with a grin, continuing to gobble the gummy worms. Briana smiled and grabbed a few before her close friend ate the rest.

As Briana started to close all the windows in her house and lock everything up, Hailey stared at her with a questioning gaze. "How can you stand using that Nair thing? I tried it once and it hurt like hell," she unknowingly started to rub her leg at the memory of the hair removal lotion burning her skin after a minute of having it on.

Briana chuckled softly before answering, "The first time I used it I thought the same thing, but later on I did it again and it wasn't as bad." Hailey gave her a disbelieving look. "I'm serious; I started to notice that even after I shaved, my legs still felt prickly, so I used that and it was kind of like waxing, but less painful. Plus, if it leaves any hair, I can just shave it off," she finished with a smile.

"Mm-hmm," Hailey hummed with a calculating look, "Or maybe you just don't have the nervous system in your legs."

Briana rolled her eyes with a small smile as she grabbed her bag and asked Hailey, "When is your mom going pick us up? I'm ready to get my anime on at Lisandra's."

Hailey looked down at her phone as she grabbed her bag and followed Briana to the door. "Uh, she should be here in-,"

She was abruptly cut off by a hard vibration in the ground and a sudden white light piercing the darkness that was in the house because of the lights being off.

Briana quickly fell to the ground, dragging Hailey with her, and braced her head with eyes pressed tightly closed. "What is this, an earthquake? They don't usually happen in Florida." The light suddenly became brighter and slowly became bigger, as if it was coming closer.

The girls squinted at the bright light, attempting to shadow their eyes while trying to back away. The back pacing proved to be pointless since the shaking of the ground made it hard to maneuver and the broken vase that had fallen soon after the quake started was in pieces around them, making it dangerous to crawl.

It was only soon after that the two were completely consumed by the light and, in a flash, they were gone and everything completely left perfect as if nothing had happened. The world outside the door was unaware of anything that had just transpired inside the house and carried on.

Meanwhile, the girls felt the hard wood that was Briana's home flooring, turn into a soft patch of grass before each of them fell on their sides. The cold air blew onto their arms, causing goosebumbs to rise on their skin.

Briana slowly opened her eyes, only to flinch at the sun's light and shield her eyes with a hand so she could get a good look at her surroundings. It appeared that they were in the middle of a vast terrain of grass with the occasional tree, along with hills in the distance blocking anything past.

Briana turned her head when she heard her friend let out a groan of displeasure at the situation. "Where the hell are we?" Hailey asked while taking a quick look around.

"I'm not sure, but it seems like a field somewhere," Briana answered while getting up and dusting off her knees that had slight dirt on them from the landing. She shielded her eyes again to get a better look into the distance. "I have many theories of where we are but they all seem impossible."

Hailey looked at her with a raised eyebrow before getting up and saying, "Trust me, I don't think things can get any weirder."

Briana nodded and started to explain, "Well, based on the temperature, a good idea of location is somewhere in the northern hemisphere and the time is about," she paused to glance at the sky, covering her eyes for a second after looking at the position of the sun, "a little before noon."

Hailey had a questioning look on her face as she then stated, "Don't stop there, keep going. Let's see how far you can pin point us."

"It's a simple hypothesis gathered from observation and knowledge of the seasons; since it's fall, the north is experiencing colder weather patterns, and, based on the fact that I can't see my breath, I would say it is somewhere between 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 degrees Fahrenheit," Briana finished with an innocent smile and hand on her hip.

Hailey gave her a skeptical stare and remarked sarcastically, "Geez, is that all? Maybe if you keep talking you'll be able to tell me our coordinates, too." She then crossed her arms and questioned, "Honestly though, is Mr. Thomas teaching your class better than mine? Or do you just get randomly smart at times?" Briana sent her a grin and knowing stare that had Hailey sighing out, "Definitely the latter."

Mr. Thomas was their science teacher for eighth grade, but while Briana had him third, Hailey had him fourth. It wasn't that he was a bad teacher, it's just that Briana may seem like a foolish fangirl that is probably barely passing her classes, but she managed her time to get straight As, take another elective course out of the other two she took of her six classes in school, spend time with friends and family, and still have time for manga and anime. Hailey often wondered how she did it, since she wouldn't know with the antisocial life she has; although she also maintained a constant flow of As and the little B every once in a while.

Hailey was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Briana get on her knees in front of a few yellow flowers and start to stare at them intently. "What are you doing?" she asked as Briana plucked the flower from the ground.

Briana looked up from the flower in her hand and stared at Hailey while biting her lip, seemingly troubled by something. "It's just that," Briana paused and looked back at the flower, "I did a report on this flower in seventh grade for my science class; it's a part of the sunflower family called Arnica."

Hailey seemed a little confused and asked "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It only grows in Europe and Northern Asia," Briana answered as she laid the flower back down and got up. She went over to where their Jansport bags had dropped and grabbed hers. "I guess this would be a good time to whip out my phone," she joked as she set her bag on the ground in front of her and began opening it.

Hailey also went to her bag and opened it up, only to be met with a shock; half the things she had in her bag were missing. She looked up to see Briana staring at the contents of her bag with a shocked expression mixed with slight horror that only grew as the seconds ticked by.

"What the fuck is this?!" Briana practically screeched as she started to furiously search her bag, taking things out and setting them to the side.

Hailey also began to shift through her bag, counting all the things that were missing and some things that weren't there before. "All of my technology is gone along with my bathing suit and a couple jeans and shirts," Hailey told her panicking friend before adding, "But it seems that the jeans and shirts were switched with… What the hell? This cloth looks hand made," she finished while feeling the new fabrics that were found in her bag.

Briana on the other hand was not taking the situation well at all. "All my technology is also gone plus my bathing suit, make up, all of my hair products, my nail polish, and worst of all, my fandom merch," she finished with a slight cry of anguish.

Hailey made a horrified gasp, "Not the merch!" Briana curled up on the ground and hugged her knees. Hailey took that time to look in her bag and saw that she was right; the bag was pretty empty compared to how stuffed it was before. Some clothes were switched out like hers had been, but what caught her eye was the huge stack of papers in the center of the biggest pocket.

She picked it up and started flipping through the pages and noticed that they had titles at the top. "Centuries by Fall Out Boy, Colors by Halsey, Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At the Disco; why do you have a whole bunch of papers with songs on them?" Hailey asked Briana as she slowly started getting up, sniffing nonetheless.

"What are you blabbing on about?" Briana questioned to which Hailey responded by handing over a couple of the papers. She started flipping through them, outwardly showing her confusion before a spark of recognition struck in her eyes.

"These are all my songs on Spotify, I think. Give me some more papers," Briana held her hand out so Hailey could hand her more of them. After a few more seconds of flipping through them she stated "Yeah, these are the songs I had saved on Spotify, even some of the ones I had saved in separate playlists I see in here. Who had time to do this? I have, like, five hundred songs on my phone from that app."

Hailey just closed her eyes and let out an irritated sigh. "I don't even know anymore, maybe when we landed we passed out and someone mugged us," she tried explaining.

"I don't think muggers would trade some stuff for ours nor take the time to print out all my songs," Briana reasoned while orderly putting the papers back and closing her bag. "But, if there were muggers, that means civilization is nearby."

Hailey looked around and pointed north of where they were, "I think I see something just beyond that hill, we should start walking."

And so, with annoyed expressions of confusion, the two girls set off in hopes of finding a house full of people; preferably nice.

 **XoXoXoX**

 **So this story contains two OCs named Briana and Hailey. As said in the story they come from Florida in America and I have been writing this story like crazy since the words just seem to flow easily. This is the prologue and tomorrow I will be posting Chapter 1. This story takes its time with things and is not rushed so bare with me. I will try to make this seem realistic and right now I am on Chapter 3 on Word and I need some inspiration on some things so feel free to give advice.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing of Attack on Titan, all rights belong to Hajime Isayama except for OCs and anything that deviates from the main storyline he has written.**

 **Warnings: This Story may/will contain:**

 **Massive Fangirling  
Character Deaths  
Both Silliness and Seriousness  
A Lot of Sarcasm  
Descriptions of Certain Male and Female Body Parts and How They Work (for anyone who gets uncomfortable)  
Briana and Hailey Feeling Like Mega-Geniuses  
Fluff and Pain  
Mentions of Shipping Certain Ships That You May Not Like  
Magic (You're wizards Briana and Hailey)(JK)  
Possible Similar Scenes to Other Stories (I will mention whoms in the Disclaimer)  
Tears  
OCs Arguing Before Breaking Down Into Tears of Pain From Character Deaths  
Exaggerations of Strength, Intelligence, Coolness Factor, etc.  
Real Heart-To-Heart Moments**

 **For the other chapters, I will put the warnings at the top of the chapter explaining the warnings that will apply to THAT SPECIFIC CHAPTER ONLY**


	2. Chapter 1

**Warning: Slight Spoiler for manga and Emotional Girl Shit**

 **Disclaimer: The OCs and some of the plotline are mine (since I shall be going by Isayama's plotline) all other rights belong to Hajime Isayama: Killer of Fangirls**

 **Chapter 1**

The girls had been walking for a little less than half an hour before they got to a small village. Somewhere along the way, they both got out jackets and tossed it on to save them from the chilling air. The houses seemed old but sturdy, like something you would see in the mid-1800s. It wasn't even a village exactly, just about ten houses crowded around each other with a small farm to the side

"This place seems oddly familiar," Hailey commented as she ran her hand along the side of the house. The houses weren't that big and were made of cement and bricks while being held up and supported by wood. "This sense of déjà vu is almost sickening."

"Hello!" Briana called out, her voice echoing slightly on the houses, "Is anyone here?" At the lack of response, Briana sighed and went up to a house before opening the door and stepping inside.

"Are you crazy? That's trespassing, Briana," Hailey called to her friend as she stepped into the doorframe.

"Yeah, but if everyone decides to hide then I guess I'll just have to force them out," Briana insisted as she started to explore the house.

Furniture was scarce, just a simple kitchen and dining table with three doors; most likely leading to bedrooms and a bathroom. When Briana went over and tried the faucet, nothing came out other than a few drops of brown water. She wiped a finger over the surface of the dining room table and looked to see about three layers of dust collected on it. When she opened the kitchen pantry, she nearly shrieked as she slammed them shut again before the roaches fell out from where they were piled on a whole bunch of rotten food.

Hailey had opted to stay outside and look around the area. The small farm had dead plants, slowly disintegrating under the sun as flies surrounded it. Some doors to houses were left open while others had wood bolted to the windows on the inside; one door had even fallen off completely.

Hailey hummed in thought as Briana walked out to stand by her side. "It seems as if the people here had attempted to protect their houses, but," Briana looked at the few houses with their doors hanging open, "It looks like they ended up having to leave in a rush; some clothes are still left in the bedrooms and food in the kitchen pantry; completely rotten food I should add."

"I wonder what could have been so bad that people had to leave in such a hurry," Hailey murmured. "This place seems to have been abandoned years ago."

Briana shivered, "Whatever it is, I don't want to have the pleasure of finding out. I grabbed some clothes that seemed as if they would fit us and weren't full of holes, but the food was way beyond unsalvageable." Briana started walking to the front of the village with Hailey quick to follow. "Which way should we go now?"

Hailey looked back over the hills in the distance and noticed a sliver of cement over it. She pointed to the left and suggested "That way, I see some cement on the other side of the hill; maybe some kind village is on it."

Briana nodded and they both, once again set off into the unknown; although, the sense of déjà vu never left them. Even as they walked alongside each other, they remained quiet, both lost in thought.

As Hailey thought about rational things such as how they got there and what their parents must be thinking; Briana thought about all the anime she could be watching right then and what way to kill the person that, somehow, put them there. One thing they were both focused on was remaining level headed throughout the situation, they couldn't afford to freak out and end up outside in an unknown place, completely vulnerable in the late hours of night.

That was when Briana noticed something. She had known Hailey for ten years of her life since she had went to elementary school with her and, even throughout of all those years without having one class together, they became best friends somewhere along sixth grade. Somewhere during the time they became friends, Hailey had a huge growth spurt. But, looking at her now, she seemed… shorter to the ground.

When Briana looked up at her, the height difference seemed about the same, but when she looked at the ground, it seemed to be closer than before. "Hey Hailey," Briana decided to speak up about it.

"Yeah, what's up?" Hailey questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you feel, I don't know, shorter to the ground, maybe?" Hailey switched her eyes from Briana to the ground then going back again.

"Actually, yeah; I feel four inches shorter or something. You look shorter too, maybe like another inch shorter than me compared to before" Hailey answered while looking down at her with a grin. "Now you're a small bean like Levi."

Levi was a character from the anime Attack on Titan. It takes place in a world where giants, ranging from three to fifteen meters, appear and nearly wipe out humanity. To save themselves, humans built three fifty meter walls and hid behind them to escape the titans, Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina. After one hundred years of peace, a titan appears out of nowhere, taller than the wall, and kicks through the gate of one of the outer distracts connected to Wall Maria, the outer wall. They called the titan, the Colossal Titan, which disappeared shortly after the kick that made a hole in the gate and let titans into the district, Shinganshina. Another titan then appeared, called the Armored Titan, which ran into Shinganshina and broke through the gate connected to Wall Maria, causing titans to get through that gate and humanity to lose a third of its territory and many lives. After seeing his mom eaten by a titan at the age of nine, the main character, Eren Jaeger, makes it his goal to become a member of the Scouting Legion, one of three branches of the military, along with his adoptive sister, Mikasa Ackerman, and best friend, Armin Arlert. The Garrison Regiment takes care of protecting the people and keeping the wall armed; The Scouting Legion sacrifice their lives to explore outside the walls and study the titans in order to find out anything that may help them win for humanity; The Military Police protect the king in the very inner district, Wall Sina, which is said to be the safest district, and only the top ten cadets of training can enter this branch of military. The Commander of the Scouting Legion is Erwin Smith, the Corporal is Levi who is later found out to be an Ackerman in the manga, and Hange Zoe is the Squad Leader.

The anime was both one of Hailey's and Briana's favorite shows of all time. By the mention of the anime, Briana had a small spark of remembrance appear in her mind before it was washed away by the insult.

"How would that even be possible?! I can't just shrink; it's probably just your imagination! I am not short," Briana argued with crossed arms and an irritated look on her face.

Hailey laughed, but after a few seconds, her face became serious. "I'm actually not kidding, we do seem shorter." Briana gave her a suspicious look but shrugged and started walking ahead.

Looking at the Jansport bag on her back, Hailey confirmed that Briana got smaller when she saw that the bag was nearly half her size. It would have been amusing had it not been worrying. How can someone just shrink? How can someone just appear in a new place? How is any of this possible? Maybe it's a dream, Hailey wondered. If it is a dream, it sure is awfully realistic.

"Hey, Briana," Hailey called, causing her friend to turn around with crossed arms. Hailey ignored the slightly annoyed look on Briana's face, knowing that she would forgive her sooner than later. "What bra size are you?"

Briana had a startled look on her face at the very sudden and forward question. "Last time I checked I was a C cup, why?" she answered cautiously.

Hailey motioned for her to turn around, to which Briana obeyed, somewhat curious as to what she was doing. Hailey pulled down the back of her shirt to grab the tag of the bra and looked at the size of it. "Well, it seems that height wasn't the only thing that changed," Hailey said with a small chuckle. "It seems that you have become an A cup; welcome to the club," she finished, letting laughter seep out.

Briana looked down and saw that her chest was indeed smaller, she must've not noticed because of the change in height. She crossed her arms again and looked back towards the direction they were headed; now that she was closer, the cement was coming into view more.

"I refuse to believe this any longer! The height could just be some kind of mistake that we were just seeing; but bra sizes? I am officially more than suspicious that this is a dream," Briana emphasized before she slowly turned towards Hailey. "If this is a dream, I want to be told right now!" she demanded of her friend.

Hailey shrugged, used to the explosions Briana would make in situations she was unable to understand. "Sorry to say that I'm in control of my mind at this moment, not some thought created by your imagination." Hailey pondered for a moment before an idea came to her mind, "What if we are having one of those dreams where two really close friends share the same dream?"

Hailey had a big smile on her face while Briana stared at her with an expression practically screaming that she was done with everything right then and there. "Aww, we are so close!" Hailey wrapped her arms around Briana from the side so her chest was touching her shoulder.

The same expression remained on Briana's face as she slowly ordered, "Get the fuck off me."

Hailey obliged and crossed her arms over her chest, "Oh come on, you know you are the only person I actually hug, right? Why are you so grumpy all of a sudden?"

When Hailey turned her head back towards Briana, she saw her sitting on the ground with crossed legs, slightly leaning back on her bag. "What are you doing now?" Hailey asked with an eyebrow raised slightly.

"I'm sitting, what does it look like I'm doing?" Briana grunted back, a slight pout on her lips. Hailey still wondered today how she could deal with this crazy person's bipolar personality. "I refuse to get up until all this stupid shit is explained to me."

Hailey sighed and commented, "Well, if you get up and we get over that hill, maybe this dream will be explained and we can wake up in the morning content with finding the answer."

Briana huffed in annoyance and shut her eyes for a moment. She brought up her hand to adjust the glasses on her face before noticing, they weren't there. Her eyes snapped open and she quickly got up and started to survey the surrounding area, mostly everything at a far distance away.

Ever since sixth grade, Briana had been confined to wearing glasses as her ability to see far away objects started to dwindle and she could barely see things from five feet away without them getting a little blurry. But at that moment, everything around her was seen with perfect clarity whether it was up close or far away. She stood up and felt tears brim her eyes as she stared at a tree, situated at the top of the hill they were headed towards, sway in the cold breeze.

"Briana, what's wrong?" Hailey asked with concern laced in her voice as she put a hand on Briana's shoulder.

She was alarmed when Briana looked at her with tears welled up in her eyes and a smile on her face. "I can see," at Hailey's confused look, Briana was quick to explain. "I can see everything, Hailey. Without my glasses I can see as far as the hills will let me," Briana returned her gaze to the hill and rushed to wipe away the tears before they could spill. She cleared her throat and pointed out, "We should really continue walking; wouldn't want to wake up still troubled from an unanswered dream and such."

With that, she continued walking, leaving Hailey to gap at her friend. After a moment, Hailey sighed and let a small smile curve her lips as she started to walk along with her friend. _Whatever is going on, I know that we will get through this, together_ , Hailey thought.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed :D**

 **Love Always,**

 **Commander_of_Anime**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Warnings: Cursing, Sneaky Teenage Girls, and A New OC :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

The hill hadn't been very steep, making it a fairly easy climb that didn't take very long. By the time the two reached the top, they both rolled over and collapsed on their backs from the exhaustion of walking so much.

"I regret not taking gym seriously," Briana admitted while leisurely sitting up. She glanced over at Hailey to see that she was attempting to get up but suddenly stopped and fell to the ground. Briana laughed at her friend's lazy ways and crawled over to her.

"I was going to get up," Hailey started, "but then I realized that standing up is overrated and I'd much rather lie down." She then set her head to rest on her arms and looked up at Briana like that.

"There are bugs on the ground," Briana simply stated, causing her friend to shoot up and rapidly wipe at her body as if there was something crawling on her. Briana giggled at the silly sight of her friend making a fool of herself, but then again, what else was new?

It was then she got to her feet and stretched before looking over the hill they just climbed. It was also then that she figured out where the odd sense of déjà vu was coming from; she nearly toppled down the hill upon realization. The way the houses were built, the landscape, the temperature and location; everything was matching together perfectly before it slapped her across the face.

Hailey looked over at her friend and questioned, "What on Earth are you gawking-?" she trailed off as her eyes drifted in the direction Briana was facing. Her eyes widened and mouth hung open at the sight before them, both terrifying and electrifying.

A huge cement wall stood in the distance from the hill they were on, showing nothing over it; the girls knew that the wall was probably around fifty meters high. The space that stood before them was practically empty except a small forest that sprouted off to the side about halfway through the mile distance between the wall and the two.

The hill wasn't at all that tall, most likely around seven meters or so high off the flat terrain at the bottom. Still, from on top, everything could be seen… including a set of three giants roaming to the left of the hill; not close enough to notice them, but not far enough that the girls would be able to slip past them easily.

"Titans," Briana breathed out in a slow breath of shock, hands starting to shake slightly. Both of the girls looked at each other with equally terrified expressions.

They knew where they were, their expressions explained that much. They were in the anime Attack on Titan; although they both loved the show to death, being in it was a whole different thing. The fandom may be one of the craziest bunches of fangirls and fanboys anyone will ever meet, but the show was another thing entirely, full of death, pain, gore, betrayal, and lots of tears. Neither Hailey nor Briana had any reason to call the fan base crazy, even if it was, since they were in it, too; always fangirling about their OTPs and the amazing characters.

"I don't think I want to be in this dream anymore," Hailey admitted as she wrapped her arms around herself. "If this is a dream and I'm aware of it, those titans would have disappeared by now and we would have a shirtless Levi in front of us right now," she babbled with a small laugh as if she was trying to lighten the situation.

"Everything will be fine," Briana reassured, letting a smile grace her features. "All we have to do is find a plan to get into the wall through the gate, and then we can go and attack the Survey Corps with hugs and squeals," she finished with a genuine laugh as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"And how are we supposed to do that Briana? Plus, if we do get in, what in hell could we possibly say? That we are not of this world? Bullshit Briana, it's gotten to the point where I'm not even sure this is a dream anymore after I scraped my knee on that rock," Hailey snapped. Somewhere along the climb up the hill, Hailey had tripped and ended up scraping her knee enough to draw blood.

The sad part was that Briana knew she was right. Hailey was only being rational of the situation. For reasons unknown, they weren't able to control the dream around them, and there is no way to get through those gates unless they are open; not to mention what would happen to them after they got in, the military police would probably interrogate them until they got bored and shot them dead. The only time they ever actually open the gate is when- a sudden idea came to mind.

"Dream or not, I have an idea that may work if the circumstances are in our favor," Briana stated with a smile growing on her face as she helped her friend get off the ground she had sat on.

"Have you not met me? The circumstances are practically never in my favor!" Hailey exclaimed.

Briana snickered as she responded, "May the odds be forever in your favor."

"Stop with the Hunger Games references," Hailey groaned with a small smile playing at her lips and a shake of her head. "Just tell me what this plan is."

"First things first, let's walk this way," Briana responded while pushing Hailey to the right, away from the titans and closer to the trees. As she spoke, Briana started to look around, as if searching for something. "My plan all relies on the Scouting Legion being out on an expedition outside the walls and a convenient horse somewhere around here," she started to explain.

"Are you kidding me? The odds of the legion being out right now are not very high, plus, how does any of that fit into this?" Hailey argued with a wave of her hands.

"Just trust me and think about what I could be planning," Briana advised before turning around and saying, "Just do me a favor and stay right there, I'll be back before you know it." With a smile, Briana sprinted down the hill before Hailey had a chance to say anything.

Briana searched desperately for any sign of a horse, practically begging the gods for her idea to at least be given a chance. She was stumbling through the trees of the small forested area, making sure to keep a clear view of the side exit towards the hill so she wouldn't get lost. It was then that she tripped over something, causing her to tumble over and land on her stomach.

Briana groaned at the landing before she felt something wet and thick on her hands, which had slipped in front of her when she attempted to brace herself for the fall. She brought her eyes to her hands and saw a dark looking liquid on them, the color not clear with the shadows of the trees being cast down on her.

Then, the smell hit her full on. The stench of iron surrounding her as she slowly brought herself to her knees to look around at what tripped her. Briana's eyes widened at the being behind her, frantically backing away from the body. The top half of a man was spread out in front of her, a last look of horror printed on his face. When she felt the sickly liquid on her fingers again, Briana switched her eyes next to her to find the bottom half of the man; luckily the chopped half was facing away from her.

Briana jumped to her feet, wiping the blood on a nearby tree and doing a quick once over; relieved to only see a smudge of blood on her torso, barely visible on the black jacket. Her eyes drifted over the area to see three more bodies scattered about; one had no head, another without an arm and leg, and the last just a pair of arms and legs. The blood was fresh, that much was clear since the blood was not dry with the stench remaining strong in the air.

Although her plan was proven to might work, Briana knew that giddiness was not the mood for the immediate area around her. With the reminder of what she was doing there, she walked over and stripped two of the soldiers of their green, hooded cloaks that held the symbol of the Survey Corps on the back; a pair of overlapping wings of blue and white. The cloaks had blood on them and a few holes, but nothing too serious that it would draw attention.

With her eyes cast downwards, Briana murmured to the dead four around her, "No one ever dies in vain, the fact that you all fought is enough proof that you are strong and looked towards a future with hope. Every brave person gets scared, and for facing all this even if you were terrified, I respect that." She paused for a moment before whispering in a soft voice, "Ave atque vale." The phrase was a quote from the book series _The Mortal Instruments_ , the quote was stated after the death of a soldier; translated from Latin, it means 'Hail and Farewell'.

Briana tossed the cloaks over her shoulder and started to walk back along the side of the forest to meet up with her friend. She knew none of this made any sense, but that was probably what made her so curious.

Meanwhile, Hailey merely sat on the ground with a sigh as she looked around. Constantly checking back to the place Briana had disappeared to. Her eyes tended to flicker over to the area where they had last seen the titans, but they seem to have travelled off away from them, no longer in sight. With a relieved sigh, Hailey set her eyes to the sky, watching as the clouds moved overhead.

Hailey knew that Briana is easily one of the smartest girls she knows, but running off alone was not only a stupid idea, but Briana should know how much it makes her worry; especially in a place like this. She wished Briana would put more thoughts into her actions instead of just jumping into things and hope everything goes well. In real life, being impulsive you can get away with, but in the Attack on Titan world… being optimistic was practically called being stupid.

With that thought, Hailey slowly got to her feet and stretched while looking around. That was when something caught her eye; a horse was trotting along the grass, getting closer to the mountain she was standing on.

Hailey's face was set in a look of utter disbelief before breaking into a smile. "Hi, Jean!" she screamed with a wave of her hand, laughing like a crazy person. "How you doing these days?"

The horse stopped and looked at her as she cautiously walked over to it, trying to control the grin on her face. Only when her hand was pressed softly against the horse's neck did it jerk slightly. Hailey quickly grabbed the reins of the horse and petted the mane with small touches as to not scare it away.

A loud bang was heard in the distance, causing both the horse and Hailey to swing their heads in the direction it had come from. A green gas left a trail in the sky, pointing in the direction of the wall's gate. Several more shots were fired the exact same way the first one was directed, showering the sky with the green smoke.

"The Scouting Legion," Hailey murmured to herself as she directed the horse to follow her back up the hill by tugging at the reins. _I guess being a little optimistic isn't all that bad_ ; Hailey thought with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, _Briana's plan may actually work_.

By the time she got back to the top of the hill, Briana was already standing there with a smirk on her face as she stared at the vanishing fumes coming from the distance. The two green cloaks were folded and draped over one of her arms while her bag was hanging on her shoulder by the strap and Hailey's own bag was carried in her hand.

"I already know; you made a very good point and I completely ignored the possibility. I'm sorry, but I'm only human," Hailey acknowledged with a role of her eyes. Briana just laughed it off as she handed over the bigger of the two cloaks she was carrying to Hailey and wrapping the other around herself, bringing up the hood to hide her face.

At first, Hailey was going to question where the cloaks came from, but thought better of it; after all, it was the Survey Corps. With a swing of the cloak around her form and a tug of the hood over her head, Hailey grabbed onto the saddle of the horse and hoisted herself over so she sat, somewhat, comfortably on the horse.

Briana looked at her with a raised eyebrow, slight surprise seeping into her eyes. "You know how to ride a horse?" she asked skeptically.

"Not professionally, but enough that I should be able to keep up with everyone while we head through the gates," Hailey answered with a small shrug. At Briana's unsure stare, Hailey pointed out, "I may have not ridden in a while, but the horses the Survey Corps use are trained to behave with anyone they meet, in case someone loses their horse and happens to find a different one."

"Whatever," Briana muttered before holding her hand up, leaving Hailey to stare at it. She let out an annoyed sigh before saying, "Hailey, I don't know if you've noticed, but this horse is fucking taller than me, so I swear to god if I have to explain to you that I need help getting on, I'll fucking bitch slap you."

With a simple chuckle, Hailey helped balance Briana as she slipped her foot into the left stirrup, her right hand on the back of the saddle, and pulled her leg over before wrapping her arms around Hailey and setting her hands on the horn of the saddle.

"Make sure to keep your hood up to cover your face," Briana ordered as Hailey trotted the horse downhill. "Stay in the shadows of the trees and only slip into the legion's formation at the end so we go unnoticed. Go to the very front of the forest."

Briana really thought the plan through, extremely happy that she had watched Attack on Titan enough times to know every detail and what it meant. The main thing that caught her attention was the houses; if the Scouting Legion is on an expedition right now and those titans weren't enough of a hint, it must be a couple years after the fall of Shinganshina and Wall Maria.

"Once we get in, everyone will most likely be at the very front to see the Survey Corps return, so after going along the path into the district, I expect that less people should be around and we will be able to slip away. I will get off first and hide in an empty alley, don't linger too long after or someone might notice you, or possibly that I disappeared," Briana lectured while the two waited at the edge of the forest, close to the wall, but not close enough to be seen.

"The Scouting Legion has returned!" a male voice called from the top of the wall. "Open the gates!"

The gate was slowly opened as the scouts neared the wall, starting to slow as they got closer. Soon, the horses were sauntering into the wall, more and more people entering through the gate. At the back of the formation, Hailey snuck in stealthily with the legion, going completely unnoticed by the soldiers who held their heads down.

 _If what I saw back in the forest was anything to go by, the mission didn't go as well as everyone planned,_ Briana thought, eyes cast downward.

"They seem to have less people then when they left," she heard a woman say, worry coloring her voice.

"Although it looks that many survived compared to last time, about half of them are injured," a man's voice spoke.

"Yes, but they're doing better!" noted a young voice, possibly a teenager.

"True, they were gone quite a long time, so maybe they discovered something!" another mentioned, perhaps a friend with the other.

This was a time where many people inside the walls looked up to the Scouting Legion with hope, believing that they would one day just come back with the answer to everything, the solution to all problems. No one actually understood that the Survey Corps has very little to start with, and it's not as if they could just ask a titan and expect an answer, the titan would just eat them. _Well…_ Briana remembered, _spoilers._

As Briana had predicted, the crowd thinned out after a while until very few people were around. With a silent gracefulness gained through gymnastics and yoga, plus the years of sneaking food from the kitchen pantry, Briana climbed off the horse and snuck into the nearest alley, snatching off the cloak and hiding behind a building. Only a couple seconds later did Hailey round the corner two houses down from where she was.

They both laughed as they hugged each other, smiles plastered on their faces. "I can't believe that worked," Hailey claimed while leaning on the wall of a house.

"My heart was close to bursting out of my chest I was so nervous," Briana commented while heaving in gasps of oxygen.

With a glance at the surrounding area, Briana saw that they weren't in a neighborhood; they were in a shopping center. Signs hung outside the shops with pictures painted on them. The two girls stuffed the green cloaks in their bags before standing up straight.

"Good thing most people can't read," Briana stated absently, thinking back to the mysterious papers in her bag. At this point, the girls didn't care whether this was a dream or not, they were just going to roll with it like they did with most things.

"And why is that a good thing?"

The girls whipped their heads to the side to see a woman. By the wrinkles on her face and the sound of her voice, she was probably somewhere in her late for forties or early fifties. By the tone of her voice and the look on her face, the lady seemed to be a sweetheart. It made Briana want to hug her; she has a soft spot for elderly people.

While Hailey panicked inside to look for an answer, Briana replied smoothly, "We needed to write a private letter to a family friend and the people we gave it to, so they could deliver, looked a tad untrustworthy." She was quick to add, "I mean no offense; it's just that they are strangers."

The woman merely smiled as she pulled a key from her pocket and headed towards the door of one of the shops. "Of course, Mr. Eisenberg is a tad creepy, isn't he?"

Briana laughed as she looked up at the sign to the store, a picture of fabric and a needle was shown. "Do you own this sewing shop?" she asked while pointing at the sign.

The woman turned with a smile after getting the door open, "Indeed I do, would you like to come in?"

The girls smiled graciously, and with a slight 'thank you' to the woman, the two walked inside. Rows of fabrics lined the walls with a counter opposite to the door and an archway leading to a back room. The place wasn't that big, and the fabrics weren't huge rolls that they had usually seen in fabric stores. After all, they were in a world where certain things were scarce. Instead, different sample fabrics lined the walls while a small area to the right had a couple items already sewed and put together. When Briana went to touch the fabric, her eyes widened slightly.

"Your craftsmanship is amazing," Briana observed while tracing the stitching of the clothing. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought it was done by a machine. Hailey also came to awe at the work the woman had done.

"Why thank you, not many people pay much attention to detail anymore. Then again, my shop is voted one of the best," The woman bragged slightly, her smile never leaving her face.

"I'm not surprised in the least," Hailey stated.

"My name is Gloria Nadel, but you can just call me Gloria; and what may I call you young ladies?" the woman asked while starting to grab a few things from under the counter.

"My name is Briana and this is my," Briana paused for a moment before finishing, "cousin, Hailey." It would be easier to say they were related than having to explain uselessly long, made up stories on how they met and became friends. Plus, it would be easier to explain the bond and trust between the two.

"Do you both know how to sew?" Gloria asked while moving to the back room.

"I don't, but Briana knows how," Hailey responded while looking along one of the walls of fabric.

"Really? Who taught you?" Gloria sure liked asking questions, but the nice and sympathetic vibe she gave off was so welcoming, neither girl noticed.

"My mother taught me at a young age when we went to live in the mountains with Hailey and her family," Briana answered as if she rehearsed her words hundreds of times. "Although, Hailey never got into sewing, she kept pricking herself with the needle then pretended to faint whenever she saw blood," Briana snickered as she told the lie while Hailey punched her arm lightly.

"Did you sew the ensembles you two have on? Are the mountains where you just came from?" Gloria started to gather some fabrics and bring them over to a small kit. She went again into the back room before motioning for the girls to follow.

Hailey's mind went blank, proving once again that she could never do improve for the life of her; but Briana went on easily. "Actually, it was my mother who did my ensemble, but Hailey was nice enough to let me use her as a model one time and make an outfit for her."

Briana sent a pointed glance at Hailey for her to pick up where she left off and responded with, "Yes." Her reply came out quickly and her voice cracked in the middle, but she went on after clearing her throat. "I remember Briana constantly apologizing as she pricked me, and sometimes herself, with the needle. Plus, I can never forget the time she managed to stain blood on one of her new shirts." Briana sent her a stare, yet it was only filled with humor.

"Oh, what enjoyable lives you two have lived," the lady replied while sitting down at a small table and beckoned the girls to sit at the two empty chairs that remained.

As Briana sat down, she continued to flow with the conversation. "As for where we just came from," Hailey shot Briana a questioning stare; she had hoped the lady would have just forgotten about the question, or have let it go. However, Briana just sat straight as she responded, "We did come from the mountains just now."

Gloria looked fascinated while claiming, "It must have been wonderful; with the leaves blowing off the trees and gliding on the wind, I can only imagine how beautiful it was." She then finished with, "Would you girls like some tea? I only have green tea though."

Both girls nodded, setting Gloria off to making the tea. "So, what has caused you to come down from the peace of the mountains?"

Now, when Hailey looked at Briana, she didn't look as level-headed as she had been before the question, making it apparent that she didn't know how to answer it. Yet Gloria only seemed to take their silence as a sign that neither of them would like to talk about it.

"I see," her smile disappeared for a handful of seconds before the tea finished brewing and she brought it over to the table. "I shouldn't nudge into your lives so much; I've only just met you after all." After a minute, Gloria asked, "If you don't have anywhere to stay, I have a two bed guest bedroom upstairs to the shop. It would also be nice if you could show me some of those sewing skills you have."

Both Hailey and Briana were struck speechless by the extremely polite offering. Based on the anime, there were a lot of selfish people in the walls, so this was a shock.

"Well, we wouldn't want to intrude or anything," Briana stuttered out.

Gloria just smiled warmly and insisted, "Nonsense, having you nice young ladies here would be a delight. I have made many sales the last couple months so I have the extra money if that's what you are worried about."

With a quick glance at her friend, Hailey looked at the kind lady and accepted her offer, "Thank you for your generous proposal, Briana and I will help you in any way we can while we stay here."

Gloria clapped her hands together happily and cheered, "Oh, wonderful; just follow me and I will show you to your rooms and have you unpack your bags."

With a last gulp of tea, the two followed Gloria upstairs and into a small room with twin sized beds inside with a closet and nightstand.

"If you do as you say and help me with work, I could let you keep this room," Gloria mentioned.

"Yeah, about that," Briana started, causing Hailey to turn her head towards her from where she was by the nightstand. "We are planning to go and train for the military." Hailey had to turn away to keep her smile hidden as she thought of what they would do.

Gloria looked slightly upset and she looked away as she stated, "Ever since the fall of Shinganshina and Wall Maria two years ago, more people have been joining the military so they can try and join the Military Police in the inner district," she then shot a solid stare at the two girls. "Only the top ten cadets can get into the MP, and if you don't get into it then you're just going to have to-," she was suddenly cut off by Hailey.

"We plan to join the Scouting Legion." At this, Gloria only looked more horrified.

"Why on Earth would you even think of doing that?!" she wailed with raised eyebrows.

"That's our business and ours alone," Briana stated evenly. "Our reasons are of no concern. Housing us until we are able to sign up and are taken for training will be enough, and as promised, we will help around your shop."

Gloria sighed before letting out a soft laugh, "I'm guessing there is no way I can change your minds…?" After a shake of their heads, Gloria continued. "Sign up for the military closes in two days; you can sign up at the center building of Trost. They will be picking up recruits to go do training sometime after they close sign ups, so possibly within a week."

At the word 'Trost', both girls froze. _In three years, this place will be destroyed, I hope Gloria survives_ , the girls thought.

"I'll leave you to unpack; if you need me, I'll be down in the shop," Gloria finished before disappearing as she closed the door.

It was silent for a moment before Briana spoke up, "At least we know what year it is."

Hailey shot her a questioning glance, quietly asking for an explanation, which Briana had no problem with. "Gloria said that it's been two years since the fall of Wall Maria and Shinganshina. Eren is fifteen and the military training is three years. Eren was ten when his mother died, so that means it was two years before he joined the military, making this year the year he joins."

Hailey pushed Briana on the bed and rolled her eyes. "You are way too into this."

Briana just laughed and replied, "As if you aren't the same."

* * *

 **Hey once again my pretty peoples, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are excited to see more of it as I keep going. Again, I take suggestions and would love any feedback from you guys.**

 **Love Always,**

 **Commander_of_Anime**


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